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Centennial 

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#  #  #    StafforO 


Mary  Lyon  Centennial 


AND    THE 


Higher  Education  of  Women. 


BY 


PHILIP  STAFFORD  MOXOM,  D.D. 


A  Sermon  preached  in  the   South  Congre- 
gational Meeting  House  of  Springfield^ 
Massachusetts^  on  the  One  Hundredth 
A 7t n iv e rsa ry  of  Ma ry  Lyo ns^  Birth. 
February  28th,    rSgy. 


a'J^VH'iiVV^VQ  \>i\i\iS^^\VV  \H?.^\\V>\t 


Al^^ 


The  Mary  Lyon  Centennial 


AND   THE 


Higher  Education  of  Women, 


This  day,  February  28,  1897.  is  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Mary  Lyon,  the  founder  of  Mount  Holyoke 
College  for  women.  Ail  over  the  land  this 
anniversary  is  marked  by  tributes  to  her 
memory  and  by  gifts  to  the  institution 
with  which  her  name  is  inseparably  linked. 
Why  this  honor  to  a  Massachusetts  spin- 
ster who  lived  but  fifty-two  years,  and 
gave  but  a  dozen  of  those  years  to  the 
school  which  she  founded? 

The  woman  and  the  deed  are  both  im- 
mensely significant. 

Today  most  people  believe  in  the  advan- 
tage and  even  the  necessity  of  liberal  edu- 
cation— for  girls  as  well  as  boys.  It  was 
but  yesterday  that  the  major  part  of  the 
people  believed  in  broad  and  advanced  cul- 
ture only  for  boys  and  men. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  that  a  little 
more  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  in  the 
Connecticut  Valley,    that  is   now   starred 

.5 


with  colleges  for  both  sexes,  girls  sat  upon 
the  door-step  of  the  public  school-houne  ir 
order  to  hear  the  boys  recite,  aud  thus 
gather  some  fragments  of  the  knowledge 
that  was  denied  them.  The  first  public 
school  iu  Boston  was  opened  in  1635,  five 
years  after  the  founding  of  that  city,  and 
one  year  before  thefounding  of  Springfield, 
but  not  one  girl  was  admitted  to  a  public 
school  in  the  whole  State  of  Massachusett« 
until  1789.  One  year  before  this  latter  date 
Northampton  deliberately  voted  that 
^'none  of  the  public  money  should  be  ex- 
pended in  the  education  of  girls."  Girls 
were  first  admitted  to  the  public  schools 
of  the  enlightened  State  of  Rhode  Island  in 
1822.  As  earlj/  as  1780,  however,  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Boston  were  opened  to  girls, 
w^ho  were  allowed  one  half-year's  tuition  in 
spelling,  reading  and  composition;  the 
dangerous  science  of  mathematics  was  still 
forbidden.  In  1825  a  public  high  school  for 
girls  was  opened  in  Boston.  It  was  contin- 
ued only  a  year  and  a  half  and  then  aban- 
doned. It  is  said  that  the  reasons  for  aban- 
doning this  venture  were  as  follows:  ^'In 
the  first  place,  the  school  had  proved  too 
costly;  $4,500  had  been  used  in  the  trial. 
Secondly,  it  did  not  seem  probable thatthe 
pupils  would  cease  craving  instruction 
within  the  walls  except  when  called  to  mar- 
riage,'^ 

6 


A  few  years  before  this  time  (about  1820) 
Mrs.  Emma  Willard,  an  honored  name, 
petitioned  the  Legislature  of  New  York 
State  for  aid  in  forming  ^'a  school  for  the 
advanced  and  thorough  edacation  of 
women  ;"  but  even  she  avowed  in  her  peti- 
tion '^the  absurdity  of  sending  ladies  to 
college. "It  has  been  said  by  Mi^s*  Kate 
Stevens,  in  an  article  in  the  Forum  for 
March  1889,  that  Georgia  Female  College 
was '^the  first  college  devoted  exclusively 
to  women ;"  but  this  is  an  error.  There  y^'as 
a  movement  for  such  a  College  in  Macon, 
Ga.,  as  early  as  1835,  but  the  College  did 
not  open  till  January  7,  1839,  and  four 
years  later  it  was  sold  under  insolvency 
and  became  the  Wesleyan  l^'emale  College. 
Its  work,  however,  was  not  interrupted  and 
it  has  had  a  career  of  constant  and  grow- 
ing usefulness. 

The  corner  stone  of  Mt.  Holyoke  Semi- 
nary was  laid  Oct.  3,  1836,  and  the  school 
was  opened  with  four  teachers  and  eighty 
scholars  on  Nov.  8,  1837.  During  the  first 
year  the  number  of  scholars  increased  to 
116.  At  the  time  of  Mary  Lyon's  death  in 
1849  there  were  fourteen  teachers  and  229 
pupils. 

Mt.  Holyoke  then,  is  the  first  institution 
founded  in  this  country,  that  gave  any- 
thing like  a  collegiate  training  exclusively 
for  girls.  Its  course  of  study  comprised  An- 

7 


cient  Geooraphy,  Ancient  and  Modern  His- 
tory, Algebra,  Physiology y Botany,  Natur- 
al Philosophy,  English  Gram^nar,  Geom- 
etry, Ecclesiastical  History,  Chemistry,  As- 
tronomy, Rhetoric,  Geology,  Evidences  of 
Christianity,  Natural  Theology,  Logic,  In- 
tellectual and  Moral  Philosophy,  and  Po- 
litical Economy.  There  were  also  studies  in 
the  analysis  of  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  and 
other  specimens  of  English  Verse.  Except 
for  the  omission  of  Greek  and  Latin  this 
early  curriculum  compares  favorably  with 
the  curricula  of  a  good  many  colleges  as 
late  as  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  even  la- 
ter. 

Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary  at  its  inception 
was  the  true  embryo  of  the  high  grade 
woman's  college  of  today.  It  holds  its  place 
securely  as  the  pioneer  among  colleges  for 
women.  Two  hundred  years  after  the  first 
American  College  for  men  (Ha^rvard)  was 
founded  in  New  England,  and  w^hen already 
one  hundred  and  twenty  such  colleges  had 
been  founded  in  this  country,  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  gave  a  charter  to 
Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary.  This  was  in  1837. 
In  1888,  during  the  days  of  the  memor- 
able blizzard  in  March  of  that  year,  the 
Legislature  amended  the  charter  by  add- 
ing to  the  title  ^'Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary" 
the  words  ''and  College",  and  gave  the 
college  the  power  to  confer    degrees;    and 


in  1893  the  Legislature  fui'ther  ainend- 
ed  the  charter,  making  the  name  simply, 
^^Mt.  Holyoke  College." 

Let  ns  take  a  rapid  survey  of  the  pro- 
gress of  collegiate  education  for  women.  It 
will  be  seen  that  only  one  institution  ante- 
dates Mt.  Holyoke  in  admitting  w^omen  to 
advanced   studies.* 

In  1833  Ot)erlin  College  was  founded 
as  a  co-eiucational  college,  and  opened 
with  30  women  and  63  men.  In  1863,  thirty 
years  later,  theUniversity  of  Wisconsin  en- 
rolled 75  women.  Vassar  College  for  women, 
founded  in  1861,  opened  in  1865  with  353 
unclassified  students.  In  1869  the  Univer- 
sity of  Kansas  admitted  29  girl^;.  In  1870 
the  University  of  California  announced  the 
liberty  of  women  to  enter  its  aourses,  but 
none  were  received  during  at  least  the  first 
year.  In  the  same  year  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology  admitted  one 
woman  to  students'  privileges,  and  seven 
years  later  (1877)  opened  a  seperate  lab- 
oratory for  women.  Also  in  1870  the  Uni 
versity  of  Michigan  admitted  two  women. 
In  the  precedino'  year  North  Western  Uni- 
versity,   at  Evanston,    II!.,    received    one 

— i^— — W— B^JWBMBl^^Mi^BBa^MagMggBHWiyiMaUM  III   MWia— ■J^imillllimMWBBgag— HW 

^Wesleyan  Academy  in  Wilbraham  was  founded  in 
1824  and  admitted  both  sexes,  but  pupils  were  re- 
ceived as  young  as  ten  years  of  age,  and  the  course 
was  not  so  advanced,  even  for  older  i>upils,  as  the 
course  in  Mt.  Holyoke. 


woman,  and  in  the  following  year  (1871) 
Wesleyan  University  received  four.  In  the 
same  year  Syracuse  UniverBity  received 
twenty-seven  women;  one  year  later  Cornell 
University  matriculated  fifteen;  and  in 
1873  Boston  University  opened  as  a  co-ed- 
ucational institution.  In  1875  Smith  Col- 
lege for  women  began  with  twelve  fresh- 
men, and  ill  the  sameyearWellesley  College 
opened  with  314  students.  Harvard  Col- 
lege somewhat  grudgingly  o])ened  its 
courses,  but  not  its  degrees,  to  women  in 
1879  and  twenty  women  entered  the  Har- 
vard  Annex,  which  has  since  become  Rad- 
cliffe  College.  In  1885  Bryn  Mawr  began 
with  forty-four  students,  and  two  years  la- 
ter Evelyn  College,  a  woman's  Annex  to 
Princeton,  opened  with  seventeen  students. 
In  rpcent  years  Brown  University  has  also 
established  an  Annex  for  women,  and  I  be- 
lieve a  few  women  have  been  admitted  as 
advanced  students  at  Yale.  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  New  York  admits 
women,  and  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  A. 
Br-iggs  has  distingaished  herself  by  achieve- 
ments in  the  study  of  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages. 

To  summarize:  In  1888  there  were  237 
co-educational  colleges  and  universities  in 
the  United  States.  In  1884  there  were  230 
colleges  or  schools  of  higher  learning  es- 
pecially for  women.  There   are   today   not 

10 


less  than  500  institutions  in  which  women 
may  receive  collegiate  training,  with  an 
ago'regate  attendance  of  not  far  from  100,- 
000  girls. 

Such  in  sixty  years,  has  been  the  vast  re- 
sult of  the  aspiration  and  endeavor  which 
were  incarnated  in  Ma^y  Lyon. 

It  would  be  an  exaggeration  to  say  that 
Mary  Lyon  produced  all  this  advance.  The 
higher  education  of  women  would  have 
come  if  Mary  Lyon  had  not  lived  and  done 
the  work  which  she  did.  Doubtless;  and  the 
United  States  would  have  attained  inde- 
pendence eventually  had  not  George  Wash- 
ington been  born.  The  cause  of  human  pro- 
gress is  divine,  and  does  not  absolutely  de- 
pend on  any  one  individual  soul.  But  this 
in  no  way  lessens  the  honor  due  to  pioneers 
and  founders  of  benificent  institutions.  The 
prophetic  mind  that,  sees  the  need  of  pro- 
gress and  has  the  heroism  to  dare  and  at- 
tempt, deserves  our  grateful  recognition 
and  praise. 

Mary  Lyon's  title  to  honor  is  not  doubt- 
ful and  it  is  very  great.  She  saw  the  need 
of  enlarged  intellectual  opportunity  for 
women.  She  felt  the  obligation  upon  her  to 
meet  in  some  measure  the  need.  She  had  the 
prophetic  mind,  the  indomitable  will,  the 
utter  consecration  and  the  immense  capa- 
city for  toil  and  self-sacrifice  which  quali- 
fied her  to  accomplish  a  work  that  makes 


11 


ber  one  of  the  very  greatest  benefactors  of 
our  Nation. 

The  Htory  of  her  early  life  reveals  her  ar- 
dent (Ipsirefor  pei'Honal  self-enlture  and  the 
prodigious  aiid  successful  efforts  which  she 
made  to  ot)tain  it.  She  had  the  large  love 
of  her  kind  which  made  her  passionately  de- 
sire the  same  privileges  for  others  of  her 
sex  who' were  environed  by  poverty  and  in- 
differencH.  She  had  the  executive  ability, 
the  persistent  purpose  and  the  physical 
and  intellectual  resourcefulness  which 
made  her  equal  to  her  task.  And  she  had 
the  sincere  piety  and  faith  in  God  which 
saved  her  at  once  from  selfish  ambition 
and  from  paralyzing  donbt  and  fear. 

There  are  three  main  characteristics  of 
this  remarkable  woman  which  I  may  sin- 
gle out  as  worthy  of  consideration  now, 
for  their  union  in  her  character  explains, 
m  part  at  l^ast,  her  success,  and  these  also 
distinguish  her  as  an  eminent  example 
for  the  young  women  of  today. 

The  first  characteristic  was  her  high  aim. 
She  had  all  the  instincts,  passions,  sus- 
ceptibilities and  desires  of  the  true,  well- 
developed  woman.  To  a  high  degree  she 
was  susceptible  to  the  attractions  of  a 
domestic  life.  But  more  clearly  than  per- 
haps any  New  England  contemporary  she 
saw  the  deficiency  in  the  common  training 
of  girls  for  the  spheres  of  home  and  society, 

12 


and  the  importance  of  raiyin^  the  level 
and  bfoadeiiing  the  scope  of  woman's  life. 
She  had  no  fantnstieal  thoughts  or  sen- 
timents, but  she  had  a  very  substantial 
conception  of  feminine  capabilities  and  a 
profound  insight  into  the  dependence  of 
the  entire  social  life,  intellectual  and  moral, 
on  the  character  and  attainments  of  wo- 
men as  mothers  and  teachers.  Her  pas- 
sion was  to  create  for  h^r  young  sisters 
the  opportunity  and  the  means  for  culture 
that  should  develop  them  into  strong, 
sagacious,  upright,  intelligent  and  religious 
women. 

Her  aim  was  singularly  unselfish.  Never 
was  a  woman  more  free  from  personal 
ambition  in  any  form  of  self  seeking.  She 
loved  her  kind  and  to  the  service  of  her 
lovesubjected  with  unconquerable  patience 
andenthnsiasm  all  of  her  vigorous  powers. 
To  her  aim  she  sacrificed  all  merely  per- 
sonal aids.  Declining  marriage,  a  sacrifice 
much  greater  for  her  than  for  one  less  af- 
fectionate and  domestic,  she  gave  her  life 
in  as  pure  and  lofty  a  devotion  as  ever 
characterized  a  Saint  Theresa,  while  it  was 
much  more  intelligent  and  practically 
useful. 

How  powerfully  her  example  appeals  to 
susceptible  and  highminded  young  woman- 
hood. How  surely  a  noble  aim  exalts  a 
lite.    She  who  has  a  high  aim   is  lifted  a- 

13 


bove  the  belittleino;  frivolities  in  which  the 
mere  child  of  fashion  submerges  herself, 
and  above  the  petty  worries  and  sordid 
cares  which  infest  the  soul  that  has  no 
great  thoughts  and  aspirations. 

The  second  characteristic  was  persistence. 
Seldom  does  one  exhibit  or  develop  so 
great  a  power  of  determmation  in  the  face 
of  obstinate  difficulties  as  Mary  Lyon  il- 
lustrated in  the  pursuit  of  the  end  which 
she  had  set  before  her.  She  was  without 
wealth  or  wealthy  friends.  The  $27,000 
which  she  collected  for  her  school  buildiug 
w^ere  secured  ''in  sums  ranging  from  six 
cents,  in  three  instances,  to  1 1,000  in  but 
two,  and  there  were  eighteen  hundred  sub- 
scribers.'^ She  had  to  overcome  the  con- 
servatism of  long  established  mental  habit 
which  held  most  of  the  people,  and  which 
prevented  any  progress  in  the  education  of 
w^omen  beyond  the  most  elementry  grades 
save  by  constant  and  prolonged  efiort. 
As  if  this  were  not  obstacle  enough,  she 
w^as  confronted  by  positive  prejudice,  and, 
in  some  cases,  by  half  scornful  opposition. 
Yet  she  never  fainted,  never  wavered,  never 
lost  faith  or  courage,  and,  better  still,  never 
lost  her  radiant  cheerfulness.  Sometimes 
she  w^as  severely  criticised.  Iler  incessant 
traveling  to  secure  aid  for  her  enterprise 
troubled  her  friends.  The  indifferent  and 
prejudiced  were  not  slow  to  find  fault. 
Still  she    persevered. 

14 


"Feeling  that  the  cause  for  which  slie  toih^d  was  the 
Lord's,"  wrot*^  Mrs.  Cowles,  *'she  was  willing  to 
make  herself  of  no  reputation  for  its  advancement. 
Certain  that  her  feet  were  on  a  rock,  she  stood  firm 
and  fearless  of  sinking.  Along  with  unbounded  trust 
in  God,  she  had  a  reasonable  and  intelligent  trust  in 
herself;  and  both  coinbinpd  to  help  her  cling  tena- 
ciously to  her  darling  object.  So  long  as  what  she  did 
was  not  sinful,  she  left  the  consequences  entirely  to 
that  Providence  whose  agent  she  felt  herself  to  be. 
*What  do  I  that  is  wrong?',  she  would  say  to  her 
friends  who  expostulated  with  her  on  the  subject.  *1 
ride  in  the  stage  coach  or  cars  without  an  escort. 
Other  ladies  do  the  same.  I  visit  a  family  where  I 
have  been  previously  inyited,  and  the  minister's  wife, 
or  some  leading  woman,  calls  the  ladies  together  to 
see  me,  and  I  lay  our  object  before  them.  Is  that 
wrong?  I  go  with  Mr.  Hawks,  and  call  on  a  gentle- 
man of  known  liberality  at  his  home  and  converse 
with  him  about  our  enterprise.  What  harm  is  ther® 
in  that?  If  there  is  no  harm  in  doing  these  things 
once,  what  harm  is  there  in  doing  them  twice,  thrice, 
or  a  dozen  times?  My  heart  is  sick,  my  soul  is  pained 
with  this  empty  gentility,  this  genteel  nothingness. 
I  am  doing  a  great  work.  I  cannot  come  down.* 
Thus  she  justified  her  multiplied  toils,  travels,  and* 
sacrifices.  Though  naturally  desirous  of  human 
approbation,  yet,  if  she  was  sure  she  was  right,  she 
could  go  forward,  though  her  dearest  friends  thought 
she  was  wrong." 

When  the  difficultie.s  that  beset  her  were 
f^reatest  her  mother  wrote  of  her: 

*'Mary  will  not  give  it  up ;  she  just  walks  the  floor 
when  all  is  so  dark,  and  says  :  'Commit  thy  way  un- 
to the  Lord,  trust  also  in  him,  and  he  shall  bring  it 
to  pass.   Women  must  be  educated  I  They  must  be.'  " 

This      magnificent      spirit      bore     her 

15 


through  and  over  all  obstacles.  She 
would  not  be  defeated,  and  she  was 
not.  Her  career  illustrates  the  power  of 
the  human  will  to  achieve  the  apparently 
impossible.  Irdeed,  it  is  said  that  men 
g-rew  afraid  to  oppose  her,  for  it  seemed 
to  them  that  what  she  undertook  was 
purposed  by  the  Lord. 

It  is  no  cause  for  wouder  that  somewhat 
of  this  indomitableness  entered  into  the 
training  and  dicipliue  which  she  applied 
to  her  pupils.  It  was  needed  then ;  it  is 
even  more  needed  now.  The  soft  nurture 
of  daughters  in  many  modern  homes  en- 
nervates  the  character.  Maternal  coddling 
spoils  far  more  fine  girls  than  stern  disci- 
pline ever  injured. 

The  feminine  nature,  quite  as  much  as 
the  masculine,  needs  the  heroic  element  in 
early  training  in  order  to  attain  to  its  best 
estate.  Such  training  would  have  saved 
many  a  woman  from  the  fickle  and  pas- 
sionate wilfulness  which  now  mars  her 
character,  and  put  in  the  place  of  it  a  fine, 
resilient  firmness  of  will  that  supplies  the 
strength  which  makes  beauty  and  gentle- 
ness doubly  charming  and  effective. 

The  third  characteristic  was  her  unflinch- 
ing loyalty  to  duty.  One  of  her  last 
sayings  to  her  school  was:  ^^ There  is  no- 
thing in  the  universe  that  I  fear  but  that 
I  shall  not  know  all  my  duty,  or  shall  fail 

16 


to  do  it."  These  words  fitly  garin'sli  the 
modest  stone  that  marks  her  grave. 
More  than  any  others  they  disck^se  the  ■ 
deepest  secret  of  hfr  hfe.  Mnry  Lyon  was 
a  woman  of  quick  sensibihtj^  and  great 
affectionateness  of  nature,  but  the  regnant 
forces  in  h^r  soul  were  a  profound  sense  of 
personal  responsibility  and  a  sublime 
tiust  in  God.  Th^se  made  her  great.  Her 
devotion  to  duty  was  an  armature  against 
temptation  and  a  girdle  of  strength  in  her 
struggle    with  difficulties. 

In  this,  too,  she  is  worthy  of  imita^tion. 
We  cannot  easily  live  and  labor  without 
sentiment  a  nd  affection.  We  need  the  gra  ce 
of  tenderness,  the  uplift  of  aspiration  and 
the  quickening  glow  of  enthusiasm.  But 
we  need  even  more  a  compelling  sense  of 
duty.  This  will  hold  us  steady  under  the 
assaults  of  trial;  this  will  give  us  patience 
in  the  face  of  exa^^perating  opposition; 
this  will  arm  us  effectually  against  the 
seductions  of  temptation  to  self-indulgence 
that  beset  us  all. 

These  characteristics  I  commend  to  the 
girls  and  young  women  of  today:  a  lofty 
aim,  an  indomitable  will,  and  an  unhesi- 
tating loyalty  to  duty.  Fear  nothing- 
save  that  you  shall  not  knov/  and  do 
your  whole  duty.  Take  to  your  hearts 
and  fix  in  your  memory  that  noble  poem 
of  Wordsworth's: — 

17 


*'Stern  Daughter  of  the  Voice  of  GodI 
O  Duty!  if  that  name  thou  love 
Who  art  a  light  to  guide,  a  rod 
To  check  the  erring,  and  reprove; 
Thou,  who  art  victory  and  law 
When  empty  terrors  overawe; 
From  vain  temptations  dost  set  free, 
And   calm'st   the   weary   Rtrife    of   frail    hu- 
manity." 

Mount  Holyoke  College  today,  with  its 
magniflcent  if  still  inadequate  equipment, 
its  corps  of  teachers  unsurpassed  in  learn- 
ing, intelligence,  high  principle  and  unselfish 
devotion  to  their  work,  and  its  hundreds 
of  enthusiastic  and  loyal  students,  is  the 
fulfilment  and  reward  of  Mary  Lyon's 
aspiration,  endeavor  and  self-sacrifice. 
She  literally  gave  her  life  for  it  and  to  it ; 
for,  although  she  was  physically  a  strong 
woman,  she  died  at  the  early  age  of  fifty- 
two  years,  after  serving  twelve  years  as 
head  of  the  school.  Had  she  lived  but  to 
lay  the  cornerstone  of  the  building  that 
represents  so  much  labor  and  devotion 
and  hope,  she  would  be  worthy  of  all  hon- 
or. The  tw^elve  years  of  teaching  ar\d 
administration  which  she  was  permitted 
to  give  put  the  stamp  of  her  own  lofty  and 
invincible  spirit  on  the  school,  and  that 
has  remained. 

There  have  been  connected  with  the 
school  since  its  foundation  8000  students. 
Over  2000  have  graduated.      Since  1888, 

18 


when  first  it  received  and  exercised  the 
power  to  confer  degrees,  it  has  honor- 
ed with  Acadenii?  decrees  290  students* 
who  have  fulfilled  its  high  requirements. 
Among  its  past  students  are  women 
who  attained  eminence  in  teaching  and 
administration,  medicine  and  surgery, 
and  missionary  service  at  home  and 
in  foreign  lands.  Others  have  done 
o'ood  service  and  won  distinction  by  con 
tributions  to  the  literature  of  History, 
Ethics,  Art,  Fiction  and  Poetry. 

The  College  today  stands  in  the  front 
rank  of  educational  institutions  both  in 
curriculum  and,  especially,  m  methods  r)f 
teaching  and  study.  It  has  well-manned, 
perhaps  I  should  say  well-womaned,  de- 
partments in  Languages  including  thf 
Sf^mitic  as  well  as  the  Classical  and  Mo 
dern,  in  Literature  and  Criticism,  in 
Philosophy,  the  Sciences,  History,  Eco- 
nomics and  Politics.  Its  discipline  is  firm 
and  wholesome. 

Miss  Lyon  introduced  into  her  system  of 
training  the  idea  of  practical  self-help  by  giv- 
ing to  each  student  a  share  in  the  household 
work  of  +h^  co'lege  home.  This  feature  of 
Mount  Holyoke  College  lias  been  frequently 
and  often  sev<  rely  criticised.  For  the  most 
part  the  criticism  has  been  unintelligent 
and     unjust.      When    the  Seminary     was 

*This  number  includes  thn present  graduating  class. 
19 


founded  it  was  difficult  to  secure  and 
retain  hired  domestics.  The  work  was  so 
distributed  that  it  bore  heavily  on  none  of 
the  students.  This  method  made  possible 
th^  economy  that  enabled  many  poor  girls 
to  get  an  education  who  otherwise  could 
not  have  done  so.  The  exercise  was  val- 
uable as  a  means  to  the  physical  health 
of  the  student.  It  also  pi:ave  to  al!  a  val- 
uable, and  in  most  casen  a  necessary, 
practical  training.  Only  a  foolish  senti- 
mentality will  object  to  a  trainino:  that 
qualifies  girls  to  ''keep  house"  with  skill 
and  neatness.  It  w^ould  be  well  if  every 
young  woman,  whether  rich  or  poor, 
were  enabled  adequately  to  care  for  her 
own  home,  whether  the  circumstances  of 
her  later  life  render  this  necessary  or  not. 
I  can  not  do  better  than  to  quote  at  length 
from  Miss  Hooker's  recent  valuable  paper 
on  ''Mount  Holyoke  College",  in  The  Ne^^ 
Enfyland  Magazine  for  January  1897. 
She  says:  — 

"  Miss  Lyon  retained  the  system  [of  domestic  self- 
help]  because  of  what  it  accomplished  in  the  abolition 
of  caste,  in  the  dignifying  of  labor,  in  giving  ex- 
ecutive ability,  habits  of  promptness  and  efficienc3^, 
and  as  a  factor  in  the  power  of  adapting  one's  self 
to  circumstances,  for  which  Mount  Holyoke  women 
at  home  and  abroad  have  always  been  noted.  So 
great  has  been  the  misconception  of  this  idea  that 
even  today  and  in  towns  within  a  radius  of  twenty 
miles  of  the  College  there  are  occasionally  found  those 
who  suppose  the  studentsarelargely  occupied  in  lea  rn- 

20 


ing  domestic  accomplishments.  All  that  Miss  Lyon 
ever  required  of  her  pupils  was  seventy  minutes  a  day 
which  has  been  gradually  reduced  by  the  use  of 
modern  appliances  and  by  help  hired  for  the  harder 
and  less  agreeable  duties  till  an  average  of  thirty 
minutes  daily  from  each  accomplishes  all  that  is 
desired/^ 

The  practical  administration  of  the  Col- 
lege is  liberal  and  wise,  illustrated  by  a 
degree  of  self-sacrificing  devotion  on  the 
part  of  the  teachers  that  is  scarcely  equalled 
elsewhere,  many  of  the  teachers  remaining 
at  their  posts  though  receiving  material 
compensation  smaller  than  most  if  not  all 
of  them  could  get  elsewhere.  This  spirit  is 
shared  by  the  students.  It  is  a  noteworthy 
fact  that  though  the  disastrgus  fire  of  last 
September  came  at  the  beginning  of  winter 
and  destroyed  the  usual  comforts  of  hving 
and  lodgingfor  most  of  them,  scarcely  any 
left  the  college,  though  in  some  cases  they 
were  invited  to  do  so  by  their  parents  or 
riends.  Right  loyally  they  stood  by  the 
College,  and  made  such  shift  as  they  could 
in  the  narrow,  though  hospitable,  homes 
of  South  Hadley. 

The  religious  character  of  the  College 
has  been  one  of  its  chief  and  most  valuable 
distinctions.  No  dreamy  pietism  has  been 
inculcated,  nor  hollow  conformity,  but  a 
vigorous  and  bracing  religion,  nourished 
by  strenuous  thinking  and  wisely  guided 
activity. 

21 


The  claim  of  Mount  Holyoke  College 
upon  usis  large.  It  is  in  the  Cohuecticut 
Valley  and  is  the  pioneer  woman's  College 
in  our  country.  Though  for  many  years 
bearing  the  modest  name  of  Seminary,  it 
has  done  true  collegiate  work  from  the  be- 
ginning. It  has  not  only  kept  abreast  of 
other  colleges  for  women,  but  has  even  been 
a  leader  in  advanced  methods  of  education. 

It  has  trained,  and  soundly  trained, 
more  poor  girls  than  any  other  woman's 
College.  Its  graduates  have  carried  the 
high  culture  of  mind  and  heart  and  ^n- 
science  and  will  which  it  has  imparted  into 
hundreds  of  homes  and  widely  leavened  the 
domestic  and  social  life  of  our  country 
with  the  transforming  energies  of  Christian 
grace  and  truth.  This  great  work  it 
has  done  and  is  doing  in  increased 
measure  every  year.  But  its  needs  are 
great.  It  needs  additional  endowments 
and  buildings  and  apparatus.  It  needs 
scholarships  and  fellowships.  Its  needs 
are  especially  urgent  now  because  of  the 
loss  by  fire. 

How  shall  we  best  celebrate  the  cen- 
tennial of  Mary  Lyon's  birth?  How  shall 
we  most  fitly  honor  her  memory  and 
acknowledge  the  debt  we  owe  her  for  her 
noble  work?  By  prompt  and  generous 
gifts  to  the  College  which  she  founded  and 
into  which  she  builded  her  faith,  her 
intelligence  and  her  life. 


THIRO  EDITION 

ThK  AllVI  OK  LiP'E. 

Plain  Talks  to  Young  Men  and  Women. 
By  Rev.  PHILIP  STAFFORD  MOXOM. 

One  volume.    i6  mo.    Cloth.    300  pages.     Price,  $1.00. 

The  Independent  says:  '*0f  course  it  is  a  good  book  for 
young  people  to  read,  especially  in  the  view  given  of  char- 
acter as  the  supreme  result  of  life." 

<^ 

SKCOND  EDITION. 

FROM  JERUSALEiM  TO  NIC^A. 

The  Church  in  the  First  Three  Centuiies. 

(Lowell  Lectures).  By  Philip  Stafford 
MoxoM,  author  of  ''The  Aim  of  Life."  12 
mo.   Cloth.    Price,  $1.50. 

In  its  picturesque  pages  are  brought  before  us  the  great 
fathers  of  the  Church,  the  fierce  struggles  and  martyrdoms 
of  those  heroic  days. —  Golden  Rule. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  HOPE. 

12  mo.  Cloth.     Price,  $  1.25. 

The  Transcript  says:  This  is  an  uplifting  book.  Not 
merely  its  prevading  optimism,  but  its  Christian  insight 
as  well,  makes  it  good  company  for  all  who  value  what 
quickens  their  better  sensibilities  and  beliefs.  ^  :^  ^ 
Outside  of  Phillips  Brooks*  own  sermons  we  have  seen  no 
book  that  reminded  us  so  much  of  Phillips  Brooks. 

Sold  by   all   Boohsellers.     Mailed,  post- 
paid, on  receipt  of  price,  by  the  Publishers, 
RoBKRTS  Brothers,  Boston. 

23 


L!X!VE!*S!T 


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